I have witnessed in many countries – in which the government was a republican system and not a monarchy – that the relationship between their high-ranking officials and those who ranked lower was similar to the relationship between a master and his servant. I have witnessed this on numerous occasions, and it is no exaggeration. One such famous country official from another country – whom you know pretty well and whose name I am not going to mention – addressed the vice-president, who ranked second in the country’s hierarchy, without using the word “mister”. And the vice-president always said “yes sir” in response.

Some people were trying to imitate that behavior in our country under the influence of those cultures. During the time when Abol-Hassan Banisadr was the president, he would never stand up [as a sign of respect] when the Martyr Mohammad Ali Rajai entered the room. We complained to him and asked him why he would not stand up, and this was the response he made: “A president should never stand up when the prime minister comes in.”

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